Hasta La Gadget!

Apple’s iMessage may be the playground for Anonymous to spread DDoS attacks, which coincidentally I was the victim of a few nights ago, but it seems the ability for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to eavesdrop on communications through its service has been posing quite the challenge for the organization.

According to a DEA intelligence note obtained by CNET, Apple’s iMessage service has made it “impossible to intercept iMessages between two Apple devices.” iMessage’s encryption methods were discovered while the DEA’s San Jose division were preparing a request to perform surveillance. Apple’s encryption made it difficult for agents’ ability to obtain the complete history of a person’s messages since it became apparent not all messages were being captured by carriers, such as Verizon who supplied the requested data to the organization. (more…)

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: DDoS Attackers Using iMessage With No Relief In Sight, ITC rules that Apple did not violate Motorola’s patent, remands case back to judge,

Back in 2010 the government in Saudi Arabia threatened to institute a ban against BlackBerry services for not complying with rules in the country have new do with the ability to monitor communications. BlackBerry was forced to work very hard to avoid being banned within Saudi Arabia. Officials in Saudi Arabia are now threatening to ban some major VoIP applications.

The reason the new ban is being considered has to do with the Skype, WhatsApp, and Viber VoIP applications not complying with rules within Saudi Arabia that allow for the monitoring of phone calls. Strangely, while the Saudi Arabia and Communications and Information Technology Commission has said that it will take “appropriate action regarding these applications” it hasn’t said specifically which conditions the applications are failing to meet. Reports have indicated that the problem the Saudi Arabia government has is that it’s unable to monitor communications made using those apps.

CNN reported that the threats likely stem from the fact that last week political protests were organized using WhatsApp. This sort of political demonstration is against the law in Saudi Arabia. When the government in Saudi Arabia took offense to communications made using the BlackBerry network, the problem was that the encryption used prevented the government from monitoring the communications channel.

The Saudi Arabian government said that the inability to monitor the channel meant that it could be used to threaten national security. At this time, all three of the apps in question remain available according to reports from within Saudi Arabia.

[via CNET]

Saudi Arabia eyes ban on Skype, WhatsApp, Viber is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Traditionally, Blackberry has been the choice of the majorly security conscious, but the times are changing. iOS has been shaping up to be pretty secure, and has even coaxed some US government agencies to jump ship. Now a security firm in Virgina is “neutering” iPads so G men can use those too. More »

A few weeks into its existence, Mega is holding up pretty well. It’s fended off its first round of takedown requests and is still crouched safely behind its wall of protective encryption. In fact, Dotcom is so confident in that encryption, he’s offering free money to anyone who can break it. More »

Data security is important to every mobile user, but some need a bit of extra encryption on top of normal security measures. For those users, Silent Circle has launched the Silence Phone app, which allows Android users to call and message each other with full encryption over talk and text. The app can be nabbed from the Google Play store, and requires a corresponding Silent Circle account.

The app utilizes TLS and ZRTP to encrypt packets, and requires both users to swap device keys when calling each other. The keys are not stored on a server, adding to the level of security, providing complete end-to-end encryption. Secure calls can be placed to both other Silent Circle users and non-members, depending on the subscription package used.

For those only interested in calling other Silent Circle members (the “Inside the Circle” plan), the monthly subscription runs $20, and includes a silent phone number. For those who need to place encrypted calls to non-Silent Circle members, the subscription plan is slightly more expensive at $29 per month. The encryption is only provided for calls placed in the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico, however.

The app is currently at version 1.1.2, and requires Android 2.3.3 or higher, meaning that it will run on most Android handsets. The app is a mere 2.5MB in size. New users have to subscribe at SilentCircle.com, and will score a 30-day free trial for another user to try out the service upon enrolling.

[via Android Community]

Silent Circle launches Android app offering full call and text encryption is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.